Eavesdropping

My friend Michelle and I went into the Cebu Pacific Airlines ticket office; I to purchase a plane ticket, and she to inquire about prices. I was up first and paid for my ticket, and was told to sit down and wait for my change and for my ticket to print. After a couple minutes, Michelle got her quote and started to head out the door, and I got up and followed her. The security guard ran after me saying “Sir, your ticket!” I had forgotten that I was actually waiting to get my ticket, not for Michelle to finish. (We were heading separate ways after the stop at the ticket office.) I went back inside and sat back down. The lady across the office from me said loudly to her friend, “Kalimot siya kay gwapaaaa!” to big laughs (basically, “he forgot because of the beautiful girl!”). Now, I’m doing alright in the language, but it’s still usually hard to perfectly understand exactly what somebody says if it’s not directed at me. But this was perfect – not only were they talking about me, loudly and directly in front of me, giving me no credit, but I understood every word. I jumped at the opportunity.

The conversation went like this, but all in Cebuano:

The women: Kalimot siya kay gwapaaaa! Laughs to each other.

Me: (Loudly, from across the room) Ah, but she has a different boyfriend.

Them: Shocked giggles, having been completely caught.

Me: Be careful, because I understand you!

Them: Laughs – You and she (the girl at the ticket counter) should date, then!

Me: Sorry, I have a girlfriend, too.

Them: Laughs

The rest of the conversation isn’t really worth reporting, just standard “how do you know our language?” explanations. But let me tell you, it is a very satisfying feeling to catch somebody talking about you in a different language, especially if it’s not malicious and you can turn it into a big joke, giving them a shock in the process.